Wednesday, October 25, 2017

'Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.'

Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.

Life is and will never be just a quote. There is always something that will come after that quote was made. Piglet did so too. Still, even that is also no end. There will always be a past and present to the situation, add to that the life of the person(s) involved. In short, there is no real end and beginning.

However small or big, my heart has become full of all of the gratitude that was required of my life to have for anyone and everyone in my life. I have been as much of a good family member, an honorable professional, a trustful friend, and a diligent lover as much as anyone can ever be. But now I need to clearly define myself, work on the gratitude for my own life. I want to be move from being liked to being respected. Anymore I am asked or made to live for others, without working on myself, I will explode.

What I am today is because of the past I have lived. Theatre brought down my ego and made me understand the importance of conversation, especially listening to others. Shooting for Shashank's documentary about "Looking at Straights in a Gay World" made me actually happy about myself for the first time. But it was Nani's death in February 2015, which really made me burn myself, one bad habit after another, to become a better individual. Ever since then, there have been few defining moments that hit the change process for a speed-up.

Mid-March 2015 get-together with friends from Journalism: It made me realize the importance of time with friends, and not to take either of the two for granted.

End-March 2015 date with Richa, where I felt suicidal seeing myself being Straight.

My emotional break-down and a really bad coming out to my family, on April 3, 2015.

A mid-summer realization that I really did not need to come out to anyone, but to myself. Because nothing changed in me for the outside world - not my clothes, or my speaking style or my actions. But a lot needed a change in my heart and mind.

Ankita's wedding in November 2015, which made me emotional enough to come out to not just her, but to all my friends from ISOMES, along with Mohit and Monika.

Coming out to Richa by pouring all of the remaining guilt in February 2016.

Becoming friends with the gang from Shiamak after our Summer Funk victory in June 2016.

Sid calling me to inform about Mandheer's death, on September 11, 2016, and being there for last rites the next day at Mandheer's house and Cremation ground.

The 22 days something in October 2016 when I was alone in the crowd in Karnataka and Mumbai.

The New Year 2017 party where I finally realized I am not going to mix my friends for multi-tasking and instead be happy by spending time with one at a time because at the end it is my time.

February 2017, when I decided to give my brother's wedding importance over my career - all for my family.

Mandeep's wedding in March 2017 where I did everything I could as a family member in my financial capacity and left absolutely nothing as a family member's emotional capacity.

The 10-something minute true love I ever felt, with Akshay, on 1st May 2017.

June 2017, when I took care of Chuck as my own and got to experience a family in every possible capacity because of him.

Mid-June 2017, when Miki Mami invariably made me realize that I need to be clear about what I want from life.

Sahil's birthday celebration on 22nd July which made me finally give up the emotional need to make sure I am the one to solve everyone's problems in my friends. I can talk but solving is up to them.

Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja celebrations in September 2017. The former made me enjoy my adolescent self, the latter made me realize the astute importance of not being judgmental and cultivating age-appropriate friend circle.

Mona Maasi's marriage life for a tailspin, even as my family is trying to come out and move ahead strongly after the house grabbing betrayal.

The recent conversations with Priya, about sex-addiction, nighttime loneliness and she seeing a huge increase in confidence in me in my Debate appearances on TV, from May to October.

Chetan's relationship closure with Jayant and Sahil's relationship woes with Ankit and Vishwadeep.

Gaining about 15 kgs in past 7 months, but still not able to be confident to face my fears of Loneliness. Thereby regretful splurging in porn and masturbation addiction.

These are the only ones from past two and a half year that I can really think of giving importance of core memory - ACTUAL MEIN. Anything beyond these is bound for a dump. Past beginnings or present endings aside, time to vent out all the big little screams and create a future of my choice. Time to make Today my Favorite Day.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

It's a new day,
But I woke up late,
Light is all over,
But the Sun is everywhere,
The new news stories now rolling,
But I feel left behind
Missing timely checking the newspaper
For the facts from my last day.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

Breakfast for a healthy mind,
But eating habits turning sour,
The day still half glass full,
But the anxiety of the halftime lost,
The kindness, courage now gathering,
But I fear losing out
Talking with a confidante
For a better reality of my present day.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

It's lunchtime with family,
But no respite from saturated tube,
The afternoon naps are back as blessing,
But with indulgence anxiety,
The hard work need investing,
But I live with doubts
Motivating tiring efforts
For a happy future day.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

The rising day, the setting night
How do I keep asserting in lonely plight
Enjoying happiness in the little things
I keep falling for sadness, center, left and right

But I will fight, I will fight, I will fight.

All those moments I am living
The important past that I keep leaving
The time that life will always keep weaving
All the Negatives and Positives
The Little Things of My Life

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

TIME: It owns the most constant quality of change. A single moment can build or ruin not just feelings and relationships but even lead to better life or death. Be it good or bad, best or worse, it’s always easy to hold back to past because of its familiarity. A known pain from past feels comforting in the present when pitched against an unknown future feeling, no matter how good and pure we can make of it. Such is the limitlessness of Time that it helps the successful and wrecks the failure.

Our life is no different from one another; our every question ever felt in our lifetime has been or is being felt by someone or another also. It’s just the permutations and combinations of these questions, their subjective answers and their sequence that defines one’s level of success and failure in life. I am just one among the billions, yet the time that I am living is the only one that actually matters. How this time made me grow past my childhood and adolescence into adulthood at this ripe age of 29 is what really matters for me now.

Not more than a year ago, while returning from a Tuesday LGBTQ party, a friend told me in cab that it’s absolutely okay to go to such parties once in a while in order and enjoy your comfort zone without any anxiety of being judged. We are no more friends, for reasons unknown to me, but his words have stayed with me all through-out. Ask any “friend” of mine as to why Bhavdeep goes to such parties, ‘once in a month or two’, and the answer will be, “to enjoy with his friends, dance and just relax”. I feel normal and unpretentious, without being shallow. However, even amidst all the constant normality of party comfort, I did not foresee that things were to change big time.

The last party turned out to quite an eventful. From attending with a new and an old yet stranger friend to bumping into possibly every person I knew from the circuit, I had everyone I knew in my comfort. Even the ambiance was never-seen-before class personified with fairly sophisticated, physically well groomed and genuinely diverse attendees. Yet, for the first time ever, I felt like wishing for that one person with whom not only I could live the entire night at the party but also share a sitting for a good wine. WINE and ME – I knew it at this moment that I indeed have moved out of my childhood and adolescence stages into adulthood.

These three stages of life, namely childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, particularly take unforeseen importance in my Time now because it was just the same day, prior to the party, that I read about them. According to Herbert Fensterheim and Jean Baer’s Don’t Say Yes When You Want To Say No, CHILDHOOD forms the first stage where the child has his parents as the base of his security. The second stage is ADOLESCENCE where the adolescent’s goal becomes gaining security from his peers rather than his parents. ADULTHOOD completes the three stages of life, wherein the adult does not need the group for security. Instead, his life may center around a small number of people. Eventually, (even) this base narrows and the base of security centers around one specific person.

Was it a subconscious effect on me, to feel the need for that one specific person that night, or a genuine growth as an individual, it will be realised with Time. If there’s anything I fear in this positivity, it is sticking to that one night and not growing out of it. Gladly or Sadly, life did show me another part of my heart and mind within a night since the party night. Thanks to a “good friend” and his “relationship”, I felt lonely and sad, in all my positive approach for a bright future.

This friend is in a fairly new but stable relationship and I had even teased him about the new guy being the most decent looking of all his exes. Both are very comfortable with each other, with one calling another for day-to-day matters like regular couples do. But when my friend calls me at midnight of the next night of the now eventful party, I badger him on how I don’t have his contact number. To my not so pleasent surprise, I am told that the two are together at the latter’s place. I don’t really know how to exactly recall that ‘fateful’ moment of getting the information, but I felt empty unlike ever before.

Yes, I was happy for my dear friend and Yes, I felt their love over the phone as the two made time for each other in all the hustle-bustle of life to be together, even on a work night (next day being Monday and Office morning) but I did not show the my very basic and normal human emotion of jealousy. My telephonic conversation continued with the two for as much time I could be selfless but I did not feel like asking for the phone number again. I was just too jealous and lonely.

I stayed nocturnal the entire night, watched some porn and shagged, only to realise next morning how easily I get my positivity wane away. One moment I was feeling glee at my adulthood and hoping to have that adult meaningful relationship with One and suddenly I let myself swept away like a teenager without a junior school prom date. It was like I went back into the past for it was a known place, despite the pains and horrors.